An immensely important part of God's providential preparation for the
New Millennium has been the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. An original
thinker, both as philosopher and theologian, he was uniquely qualified to
ascend the throne of Peter to continue and bring to fruition the teaching
of Vatican II.

The Second Vatican Council has been characterized as a pastoral
council; however, it could be more accurately called a personalist
council. Personalism is a modern intellectual movement that has influenced
every other discipline. It prefers to speak of the human person, of
creativity and freedom, rather than of nature, law, authority and duty.
While personalism was intended as an antidote for authoritarianism (such
as that of the Soviet and Nazi regimes) in which the individual human
person is devalued, in the democratic countries it has resulted in
erroneous interpretations of man and unbridled views of freedom. However,
although the Second Vatican Council used the contemporary language of
personalism it did not do so apart from the authentic truth about man and
his world enshrined in the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas and Sacred
Tradition.

Since the Council two erroneous polarities seem to have dominated the
discussion of the Council's merits. On the one hand there are those who
count themselves as progressives. In some cases they contributed to the
Council or simply rejoiced in its personalism, but who now for the most
part interpret it falsely, after the fashion of the world, without
reference to either Christian philosophy or Sacred Tradition.

On the other hand, there are those who reject the Council's orientation
and its documents (in one degree or another), and who see the Church
before the Second Vatican Council as the last integral expression
of the Catholic faith. This integralist view takes many forms, from subtle
suspicion to overt attack on the Council, its teaching and its pastoral
decisions.

In the midst of this time in salvation history, God seated a man on the
chair of Peter who had spent his adult life integrating personalism with
the perennial philosophy of the Church and her Sacred Tradition. To these
personal intellectual gifts he added the charism of Peter to guide and
protect his judgments when they would have influence on the direction of
Church teaching. This combination of intellectual insight and supernatural
charism manifests a special providence of God who provides for the Church
to enter the Third Millennium of Christianity and build a civilization of
love.

Perhaps, even more remarkable has been the integration of the man
himself, who in his own life has shown himself totally disposed to the
will of God, through the Blessed Virgin Mary. In carrying out the teaching
of the Council, the Holy Father has shown a true evangelical freedom that
risks treating others' consciences and freedom with the same respect with
which God deals with every human being. This is perhaps the greatest
teaching he has given us, his personal example of supernatural respect for
each and every human person.